


You and Me and the Dog Makes Three

by C1ashi1dr



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Also Yaz's family being a pain, Alternate Universe - Dogs, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Human AU, Pet au, Pining, Slow Burn, That's what TARDIS stands for, There's a lot of dogs, Totally Awesome Rescue Dogs In Sheffield, Yaz's perspective, this is mostly Yaz just being a useless gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24122557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr
Summary: Yasmin Khan is living alone (finally) and her life is finally starting to look up. Problem is, she's lonely. Very lonely. Then Ryan recommends adopting a dog, and this place on the outskirts of Sheffield, known to most as the TARDIS. It has a very eccentric owner, he says, Jenny Smith. But the dogs she's got there will change your life.
Relationships: Heather (Doctor Who: The Pilot)/Bill Potts, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Comments: 30
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first long form fic for the Thasmin side of the fandom, so I'm still getting into the grove of things. I've got all of it written and will be posting every two days until I've got everything up. Unbeta'd (sorry) but i'm hoping it'll feel a bit more coherent just based on the fact that I've written all of it already.

Yaz didn't think she was in the right place. It certainly didn't seem like the right place, even though the navigation on her phone happily declared that this was indeed her destination. Staring up at the grungy sign, proudly declaring 'Dogs open for adoption!' in bright yellow letters, bits of the wood starting to crumble at the edges, Yaz had to wonder if she'd stumbled upon a place that was severely more sinister than she'd been led to believe. The entire building was showing signs of age, one of the shutters hanging from the front window by a single nail and the paint was chipping in several places. Just around the back, she could catch a glimpse of a bit of chain link fence and the sound of dogs barking filled the air. 

Still, she slipped out of the car, taking her keys and anything else she deemed too valuable to leave in the car in a place like this. She'd driven to the outskirts of Sheffield at Ryan's word. He'd told her about an animal shelter that an old family friend of his ran, one that he knew to be completely reputable. However, he'd failed to mention the grungy look of the place, though when Yaz squinted at the path leading up to the door, there were little paw prints painted on the concrete, stopping just short of the doorstep. That drew a chuckle out of her and she started to amble up to the front of the building. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Yaz was here on a mission. After moving out of her family's flat, she found herself alone, in her own place, without anyone to keep her company when she got home from work. In the first month, she'd reveled in the peace and quiet of an empty flat. In the weeks that followed, however, Yaz grew bored and far more lonely than she thought was possible. After complaining for the umpteenth time to Ryan, he'd suggested that she get a dog to keep her company. 

It seemed a ridiculous notion at first. A dog? She didn't have the time or patience for a dog, but as the hours alone dragged into days dragged into weeks, she came to the realization that a dog might not have been such a bad idea. So she set about research, what she would need to take care of a dog, how much it would affect her budget and everything in between. If there was one thing Yasmin Khan strove to be, it was thorough, and she’d heard too many horror stories about people who hadn’t done enough preparation when getting a pet. She didn’t want to add her own to the list. 

Never had it crossed her mind, however, to look at pictures of where it was Ryan had sent her to. So here she stood, in front of...TARDIS. The little fine print below the sign read 'Totally Awesome Rescue Dogs In Sheffield' which she supposed fit. Eccentric name for such an eccentric looking place. The first letter of each word was drawn painted in big letters, and written under the words was just TARDIS.

Yaz had to assume that was the name of the shelter. It seemed in line with what Ryan had told her, but he’d kept the information very sparse. He hadn’t even told her the owner’s name, only that she’d been an acquaintance of Ryan’s gran who had passed a few months prior. An old patient, Yaz was fairly certain, but he’d gone to the shelter to get a dog for him and Graham to cope with the loss of Grace. 

With a deep, steadying breath, Yaz reached out and opened the door. Immediately she was tackled by a large dog, one that nearly knocked her from her feet. One paw pressed into her shoulder and the other into her chest, knocking the breath out of her. A moment later, a frantic voice came from inside.

"Odin! No, we do not jump on-'' She was cut off by a grunt of effort and then the dog was off of Yaz and in the arms of the most gorgeous woman that Yaz had ever seen. She was tall, tallish at the very least, with bright hazel eyes and blond hair that had been tied back, a few strands coming loose to frame her face and bright hazel eyes. A very expressive face. “Strangers. We do not jump on strangers.” 

Yaz sucked in a shallow gasp and threw on her best grin. The dog, Odin, was now perching on the woman's arms, which were straining with the effort of keeping him upright until she could let him on the ground gently. There was another grunt as she stooped, letting Odin go once he was close to the ground. Once all of Odin's paws were on the ground, he ambled up to Yaz and sniffed at her hand. She carefully pet him on the head, keeping in mind to be gentle. 

Now that he wasn’t against her chest, she could see that he was clearly a mixed breed of some kind, big and sturdy with hair on the longer side 

"Sorry about that," the woman said, awkwardly patting Odin's back while he gave Yaz the once over. "I"m still trying to get him used to greeting people, get him out of the habit of jumping. Come in, come in." 

It was then that Yaz realized that she was still standing in the doorway, staring like an idiot. She stepped further into the shelter, taking in the decor. There were a lot of paintings of dogs, a few posters about adoption and fostering and training classes. A small bulletin board was full of flyers in one corner, tucked away behind the desk which was more of a low counter, spanning to each end of the room with two doors behind it. Despite the exterior, the shelter was quaint and had a homey feel to it that immediately set Yaz at ease. 

"So what brings you to the TARDIS?" the woman asked, slipping through a small gate to the other side of the counter. She bustled about for a moment, shifting a mug, shuffling some papers before looking up with a small grin. "Ah, sorry, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jenny, I’m the owner of this fine establishment."

The moment of quiet gave Yaz the chance to properly examine the woman in front of her beyond her face. She was wearing a simple navy shirt, a set of rainbow stripes across the front. Over that was a set of bright yellow braces, holding up navy blue culottes (how'd she even manage that) and a long grey jacket was thrown over the back of the chair. All in all, she looked very eccentric, but she pulled the look off with ease. Too much ease, and Yaz felt her face heating up as she struggled to make it seem like she hadn't just been checking the woman out, struggling to find words.

"Yasmin." Thankfully, it was an instinct to reply with her name because Yaz was far too focused looking at Jenny's face to really say anything else. "Yaz to my friends."

"Right, well, what can I do for ya?" Jenny asked, leaning against the counter. "Here to ask some questions, schedule a meeting, volunteer?"

"Uh, all three I suppose," Yaz said, wanting to kick herself for how stupid she was being. She needed to get her act together. "I've been thinking about getting a dog, doing some research. My friend recommended this place and I thought I'd check it out."

"Oh?" Jenny's eyebrows shot up in a comical expression of curiosity and shock. "D'you mind me asking who?"

"Erm, no, don't mind," Yaz said. "It was Ryan-"

"You're Yasmin Khan!" It was like watching a child at Christmas, they way Jenny's eyes lit up with pure happiness. "Oh, he's told me a lot about you. Never thought I'd get the chance to meet you properly. Only good things, I promise.” 

Then Jenny was grabbing her hand, shaking it enthusiastically and Yaz's brain was short circuiting because Jenny was giving her a beaming smile, something like pure wonder in her gaze. Yaz slowly returned the handshake.

"So you're interested in adopting a dog?" Jenny leaned back behind the counter. "You've come to the right place. There's gotta be a dog here that's perfect for you. I'll get you set up, it’ll be perfect.” She was bouncing in place and Odin was picking up on the energy, barking from where he'd laid down behind Yaz. 

"Should I set an appointment to meet some of the dogs-"

"No, no, don't worry about that," Jenny said. "Any friend of Ryan's is a friend of mine. I can take you back now, if you like. If not, we can go over the adoption process and some other things that are crucial to being a pet owner."

"Let's save the meetings for later," Yaz decided. It would be better for her if she gave herself time to gather herself. "Tell me some about the process? I’ve done some research online, but I’m sure there’s something 'm missing. Who better to ask than the expert?" 

“Oh, I’m not an expert but I’m certainly ready to answer whatever questions you may have.” 

“I doubt you’re not an expert. Place like this? Gotta have some form of expertise.” 

Jenny grinned at that and motioned for her to pull up one of the chairs strewn about the room. While Yaz was getting herself situated, she pulled out a stack of papers and a small booklet which she spent the next two hours reviewing with Yaz, though most of it was interjected with hilarious stories about other dogs that had ended up at the shelter. Jenny had a way of weaving a story that Yaz couldn't keep from being drawn in by. 

"Oh goodness." Jenny had finally glanced at her watch. "I've kept you here for far longer than I probably should have. Tend to get carried away, me. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry," Yaz said. "I quite enjoyed all the stories."

"Well, running a place like this gives you quite the array of stories, believe me," Jenny said with a chuckle. "I'll schedule an appointment for you to start meeting some of the dogs. I figure you'll want to foster to make sure you've got the right fit though usually the dog finds you without much difficulty." 

"That sounds wonderful," Yaz said, getting up from her chair. She was glad that she scheduled the entire day for this trip, she wouldn't have been able to tear herself away from Jenny if she'd been three hours late for work. All the better that it was her day off. "You've got a very nice place here, Jenny."

"Yeah," Jenny looked around. "Blood sweat and tears, she is, but we're keeping on our feet." She patted the wall beside her fondly. "When are you free? I'd schedule at least another two hours, there's a good amount of dogs here and I really want you to get good time with each of them. It’s hard to make a choice when you haven’t really gotten to know any of the dogs.”

"I’m pretty sure that my next day off is a week from now," Yaz said. "Saturday, I believe. I can double check." She pulled out her phone, looking through her calendar. She did notice her hands shaking slightly, but she put it up to excitement. She was actually going through with this. Maybe getting a dog would be good for her. Give her the company that she needed. Living alone was good, but it didn’t quite live up to expectations, not like she’d thought it would. 

Odin gave another loud bark from behind her, making both her and Jenny jump slightly. Jenny laughed a moment later, shaking her head. Yaz joined in, laughing as she watched the dog sit down, head cocked to the side as if he’d not done anything wrong.

"He's quite the rascal," she said, clapping her hand a few times. Odin looked up at her, blinked lazily, and started trotting in her direction. "You wouldn't happen to want him, would you? I swear he’s very well behaved, just a little excitable and a huge fan of people"

"He's far too big," Yaz said. At the shoulder, Odin almost reached mid her thigh, his head bumping her hip if he looked up, and she certainly wasn't looking for a dog that big. There were too many breakable objects in the flat, and she really wasn’t really wanting to be tackled by such a heavy dog. "But he seems very sweet."

"The sweetest you'll meet," Jenny said, handing her a small sheet of paper. A phone number and general information were scrawled about it in messy handwriting, heavily slanted. "Just call when you know when you're wanting to come in and I'll make sure to block off that section of time for you. Feel free to stop by if you have any questions though, I'll be happy to help with whatever you need, Yaz."

Yaz was about to protest the use of her nickname when Jenny held up a hand, eyes glistening with mischief. “And ‘m callin’ ya Yaz cause we’re friends now.” 

"Thank you," Yaz said, giving a small grin in response to the giant smile she got. "I'll be sure to give you a ring." And then she was leaving, because she was sure that if she stood in that room for another moment, she'd grab Jenny by the collar of that jacket of hers and never let her go again.

Yaz settled in the car and set off for Sheffield once more, humming quietly as she drove. Jenny was certainly something, she’d never expected that Ryan’s friend would be as energetic or eccentric as Jenny was. And, though Yaz was loathe to admit it at first, she was looking forward to the next time she saw the shelter owner. Something told her that they’d be seeing a lot more of each other before Yaz could finally make a decision. Maybe that would give her the time to work up the nerve to ask her out.

“It’ll never happen,” Yaz said to an empty car. Yes, it was very good that she was getting a dog. This was all getting a little ridiculous for her. She’d just have to ignore her attraction to Jenny, it would be awful if things were awkward between them. It couldn’t be too hard, could it?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaz has dinner with her family with as much success as you would expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is, chapter 2! Thanks everyone for the kudos and kind comments from last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one just as much.

Saturday of the next week rolled around too slowly. Yaz found herself throwing all of her effort into work, picking up an extra shift or two every day. She told herself it was to get more money for the dog, that it would be a lot to pay for, but the prospect of coming home to an empty flat each night was growing more and more daunting. It was so lonely, getting up alone each morning, wandering into work and then going back home to a still empty flat to sit in front of the telly and watch some stupid soap. And the temptation to drive back to the TARDIS and ask stupid questions of Jenny just to have the company of someone new was so overwhelming that Yaz found herself having to actively resist it.

On Friday evening, she went to eat dinner with her family, hoping that surrounding herself with other people would help ease the lonely ache dragging at her chest. It had only proved to be an exercise in patience, with her family constantly asking probing questions, mostly about the love life they were sure she was keeping from her. Yes, that love life that she hadn't acquired in any way.

"You know, I'm sure that there's plenty of eligible bachelors on the force," Najia said over another one of her father's disastrous attempts at pakora. "You could meet someone at work. Oh, that would be wonderful, wouldn't it, Yasmin? A nice police officer, it would be a good compliment to your skills." 

"Mum, I already said, I'm not interested in dating right now," Yaz muttered, pushing the food about her plate. This had been a terrible idea. "I just moved out, I need some time on my own to figure things out. Get a feel for who I am on my own, learn how to take care of myself. I'm good just having mates right now."

"I don't like the thought of you being alone there, is all. You never know what could happen." Najia said and Yaz sighed. It was hard to argue with Najia Khan. It was even harder to argue against her when she was so concerned about her well being. At any other point, Yaz would have been glad for the amount of care her family showed for her, but the frustration of the slow week was making it hard to focus on anything but annoyance. It wasn't like she knew the dangers of living alone, that she faced them quite often on the job.

"'m not gonna be alone," Yaz said. "Been looking into getting a dog to keep me company."

"Oh that's a great idea," Sonya said sarcastically, taking a look up from her phone. That alone was enough to startle Yaz. "Get a dog so you can spend all day away from your flat. Poor thing’s gonna wind up getting out-"

"Shut up," Yaz snapped, frowning when Sonya shrugged and went back to typing away at her phone. “It isn’t like you did anything better with the pets you got.”

"Girls," Hakim warned and Yaz slumped against her chair. "She does have a point, Yasmin. Are you sure getting a dog is the right thing for you right now? Do you have the time to take care of it, the money? Dogs are very expensive."

These talking points had filled her youth any time she asked her parents for a dog. It was always too much money or she wasn’t responsible enough or “Sonya has a cat, isn’t that enough?” Sonya had proved herself less trustworth with animals than Yaz, but her parents hadn’t cared then. 

"I've been picking up extra shifts recently to get more money, but once I've adopted the dog I'm not just gonna let 'em roam about the flat. I can take care of this, I've been doing a lot of research and I even went out to a shelter that Ryan recommended-"

“You’ve already visited a shelter?” Hakim asked before Najia waved a hand to shut him up. 

"Ah," Najia nodded sagely. There was a strange glint in her eye, one that often appeared when Yaz brought up Ryan. It made Yaz feel a bit uncomfortable but she was pretty sure she knew what that look meant. Her mum was very interested in Ryan, no matter how clear Yaz had made it that they were just old friends reconnecting. "And how has he been doing since Grace's passing? I know they were very close." 

"Not sure," Yaz replied, shifting uncomfortably. "I just know he got a dog after she passed and he told me I should do the same. Anyway, he recommended a place, I'm going there tomorrow for an appointment to start meeting some of the dogs." It was a declaration more than anything, perhaps a challenge to her family, a dare to question her. None of them rose to it, and instead Najia nodded.

"If you think you can handle it love, we believe you." She gave a warning glance to Hakim and Sonya, the latter of which wasn't even paying attention to the conversation anymore, much to Yaz's relief. She finally started to eat, wincing at the taste but doing her best not to show it. Her dad’s cooking wasn’t the best, but eating it in the presence of her annoying family made it better by merit of it being with someone other than herself. 

"How's work going, Mum?" Yaz asked, eager to turn the conversation away from her and she only paid partial attention when Najia set into a long rant about one of the more recent incidents at the hotel, complete with emphatic hand waving and annoyed eye rolls. Yaz was too occupied with the thought of seeing Jenny the next day. 

She'd made sure to book the appointment the moment she knew what her schedule looked like, promising to come in the early morning so she wouldn't have to agonize over the meeting. That meant she still had to get through this evening, and a cursory glance at her watch revealed that it was only a bit after seven. 

In an effort to stay sane, she offered to help Najia with the washing up, leaving her dad and Sonya to move to the living room. The routine of washing and drying dishes helped soothe her frazzled nerves, but Najia picked up on it. 

"So... a dog?" she asked, reaching behind Yaz for one of the plates that she'd just been drying. "That seems very sudden, Yasmin, you weren't talking about it last time we had dinner."

"Been thinking about it for a while," Yaz said. "Getting a pet in general. Pretty lonely, living alone but I don't think I'm ready to take on another human roommate for a while." She tried to play it off as a joke, a gentle jab at her mum but it fell flat and a bit bitter. "So," she rushed to recover, gripping the plate in her hand harder than was necessary, "when Ryan got tired of my complaining, he told me to get a dog. And when I got tired of my complaining, I decided to check it out. It's not for sure yet, I've not even met any of the dogs yet, it's just talking it through with the owner at the moment."

"I'm just worried about you being there by yourself, Yasmin," Najia said. "You've been with us ever since you were born and you never even had a roommate." She tossed a towel over her shoulder, moving to put away some more of the dishes. Yaz realized she'd been drying the same dish for just over a minute and set it down. 

"I know mum," she said, trying to keep the exasperation out of her tone. Her family's concern was welcome, but they had a tendency to cross from actual worries to overbearing nitpicks. "Maybe if the dog thing falls through, I'll find a proper roommate to ease some of that loneliness."

It seemed to be a good enough compromise for her mum, for which Yaz was thankful. They finished putting away the dishes, passing the time with idle chit chat about extended family and some of Yaz's workmates and anything that wouldn't cause too many ripples. Once they were done, they joined Sonya and Hakim in the living room, sitting in front of the telly for whatever program Hakim had latched onto for the week.

This time, it was a program simply titled "Aliens In England: The ETs Among Us" and opened with very flashy graphics that turned Yaz off of it the moment the credits started and the drawling voice of the narrator began to read off what Yaz could only assume was the standard script. She turned her attention to her phone, checking the few texts that had come from Ryan, pictures of the puppy he'd gotten from Jenny and his well wishes for the meeting tomorrow.

If there was one good thing about having a week pass until her meeting, it was that she could pester Ryan for any detail he was willing to give regarding Jenny and the history of the TARDIS. He wasn't willing to give up much, mostly mentioning that she'd been in the military a few years prior, before she'd met Grace, that she had a doctorate of some kind (he refused to tell her and only mentioned that he and Graham called her Doc most of the time because of it) and that she didn't talk much about her family. He didn't even know if she had a family, but he'd urged her to learn about Jenny herself. In fact, the message that he'd sent her over dinner simply read:

**Ryan [6:17 PM]: don't worry about tomorrow yaz. ur gay ass won't be able to talk straight anyway.**

Yaz gave a quiet huff of laughter, ignoring her the questioning glance of her mother in favor of typing a reply. She should have never told Ryan that she found Jenny even mildly attractive - and understatement, but she wouldn't tell him that - because he'd been relentlessly teasing her about it since she'd expressed her interest.

**Yaz [8:23 PM]: you should be supporting me, not making fun of me**

**Ryan [8:23 PM]: u shouldn't be so easy to tease**

**Yaz [8:24 PM]: you sure you can't tell me anything more about her?**

**Ryan [8:25 PM]: ive already told u no  
Ryan [8:25 PM]: she'll be suspicious how u know anything ive told u anyway**

**Yaz [8:26 PM]: she knows that i know you tho. can't be that heard to think i would ask you**

**Ryan [8:30 PM]: i already told u no. just wait til tomorrow, u can ask plenty of questions then**

**Yaz [8:30 PM]: fine but im not gonna let you see the puppy until you apologize**

**Ryan [8:31 PM]: yaz!!!!!! no fair!!!!!!**

Yaz set her phone to the side, ignoring the rest of Ryan's protests, a small grin on her face. She still didn't focus on the program, instead letting her thoughts wander aimlessly towards the territory of her meeting with Jenny as it was doing far more often since dinner.

There was apprehension lingering in her gut as well as a feeling that she was going to muck everything up while at an innocent meeting about getting to know dogs. No, she couldn't think like that. It was going to be fine, just like Ryan had said. There was no need for apprehension, she'd met Jenny, they'd had a nice long chat and it hadn't gone horribly, though Jenny had done most of the talking and she'd just sat listening because it had been brilliant....

"You look a mile away, Yaz," Sonya said, reaching over to kick her ankle gently. It ripped her from her thoughts, made her flush and look away from the tell and the rest of her family. "Oh? Is that a blush I see?"

"Sonya," Yaz grumbled. It certainly wasn't a whine, though it had the potential to be one.

"Why d'you keep looking at your phone?" Sonya asked, already reaching across the couch to grab at the device that was resting in Yaz's lap, having finally fallen silent from Ryan's insistent texts. Yaz was sure she flushed even deeper as she batted Sonya's hand away.

"You're one to talk. Yours is glued to your hands," Yaz protested and Hakin was starting to speak, trying to get the two of them to quiet down so he could finish her program. "Leave it alone, Son."

"C'mon, you never tell me anythin' anymore," Sonya said. "What happened to us bein' sisters?" she tried again to grab the phone and this time succeeded before Yaz could stop her. So much for police reflexes. Sonya opened the phone (not that Yaz was surprised at this point) and she made a perfunctory sound of annoyance as Sonya started to scroll through the texts.

Out of their whole family, Sonya was the only one to know that Yaz was gay, but she only knew because she guessed it one day while they were out shopping. It wasn't devastating that Sonya was looking at the messages but it was still mortifying to have your sister see the teasing you were subjected to by your friends. No doubt she'd be hearing about it when they got a moment alone.

"Well, I think Ryan's right. You've got nothing to worry about," Sonya said, throwing her phone back to her. It bounced gently off the arm of the sofa before falling into her lap as if it had never been gone. "Talking with the dog person should be simple for you, you're great at talking to people," a lie, but one that she was willing to let slide. 

After a few more moments of awkward silence and staring at each other, Yaz got to her feet, tucking her phone into her pocket so there was no chance of it getting nicked again. "I'd best be leaving," she said. "Early, busy day tomorrow and I don't want to be late. Gotta make a good impression." She gave a shaky smile to her parents, hoping they wouldn't notice and Najia got up to give her a tight hug before walking her to the door.

"Best of luck tomorrow, love. And if you have any troubles, give us a ring. Don't want you getting hurt out there." Najia patted her on the back, fretting over the collar of her jacket in a way that was almost habit. 

"I've got it mum," Yaz said, exasperation fond but clear and Najia nodded, opening the door for her. "Hopefully I'll have some news by tomorrow. I'll be round soon." Then she was gone and the door was falling shut behind her.

A brisk gust of wind drove under her jacket, making her shiver as she made her way down to her car. It was early summer, the weather still fluctuating wildly and she’d woken up that morning to a soaking rain that had given way to a clear evening that still had the bitter bite of winter to the end of it. The temperature alone was enough to keep her awake. 

The drive home was spent distracting herself with the radio and loud music that she hated but still sang along with. When she got back to her flat, she collapsed into bed, only making sure to shrug out of her boots, jacket, and plug her phone into the charger before flipping off the lights and burrowing under her duvet. It would be much better this way anyway, and it gave her plenty of time to sleep and then get ready for the meeting the next morning.

She didn't fall asleep until the early morning hours, and even then it was a restless sleep plagued with unnerving dreams of Jenny staring at her with a mixture of horror and disgust after a single misstep on Yaz's part. Even Odin was barking in her dreams, endlessly driving her away from Jenny's horrified expressions. A feeling of shamed unease was the only constant of the evening and it plagued her well into the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, come yell at me on tumblr [@joanwolfe](https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/) for prompts or for anything else really. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaz gets to meet some inhabitants of the TARDIS and makes a connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a disclaimer on this, I have owned dogs but all in my childhood and I was never a part of the adoption process. I don't quite know how it works here in America, let alone in Sheffield, so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

Morning came quickly and slowly all at once. Yaz found herself waking in a haze of lingering distress and an acute sense that something was off. She slipped out of bed, went through her morning routine, trying to keep her nerves steady, the flat seeming to echo with every movement. It was official. She was going to go completely mad if she had to live here alone for an extended period of time.

Her time in the shower gave her the space she needed to think, the soothing, steady rhythm of the hot water on her head. Despite what her nerves were telling her, she knew that Ryan and her family were correct. This meeting would go fine, and, if she was lucky, she'd find a dog that she wanted to foster. Making a fool of herself in front of Jenny shouldn't even be a concern, she just had to be herself. Just be herself....that wouldn't be too hard, right?

After a quick bite to eat, an apple that was leftover from the week (she'd have to spare some time to get groceries if she wanted to eat at home this week) she was on her way, heading to the outskirts of Sheffield like last time. She'd told Jenny that she would be there in the early morning, wanting time with each of the dogs that Jenny was wanting her to meet. 

They'd had a brief text exchange at some point in the middle of the week where Jenny asked her a series of questions about what sort of company she was looking for, ranging to whether she was active more at night or in the morning, whether or not she wanted a larger or a smaller dog, and various other things that Yaz knew would help her get a good selection.

The drive to the TARDIS passed in an excited haze of bad pop music and stupid ads, though it was a nice distraction from the semi-long drive through early morning traffic. As she turned off the motorway and onto the barely paved road that she knew would lead to the TARDIS, the nerves started to flutter in her chest again. Gripping the wheel tightly, she took a steadying breath. She could do this, it was just going to see some dogs. And the beautiful woman who cared for them. 

At first sight of the rundown building, however, her nerves fluttered away for the most part. There was still that lingering sense that she'd muck it up completely, but the sound of barking dogs through the windows distracted her momentarily. They knew she was there. The sign was still crumbling, the paint still peeling, the building looked exactly as it did the week before and nothing like the replica in her dreams, which had been almost haunting and hard to shake until she’d set eyes upon the building itself.

She stepped out of the car, grabbed her phone and her purse before entering, this time ready for Odin to jump on her, which he did. His greeting was less enthusiastic, more familiar this time about, and she had just managed to get him on the floor when Jenny swept her up into a hug of greeting.

"Yaz!" The blonde exclaimed when she released Yaz, grinning brightly. She'd changed her jumper, this time, the rainbow stripes still there but this time over a burgundy shirt, with the long coat still on instead of thrown over a chair. "Good to see you and I'm glad you could make it."

"Glad you could fit me in this early," Yaz replied, easily returning the grin. it was so easy to smile when Jenny was around, she seemed to bring it out of her. "I know it can't have been nice to get up so early to get here."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Jenny said, waving a hand dismissively. "I get here early all the time, usually just to get the dogs out and let them have time to stretch their legs before there's a chance of anyone coming by." Her grin became mischievous and conspiratorial. "You ready to meet them? I think they're really excited."

"The dogs?" Yaz asked, failing to suppress her chuckle.

"Oi, don't be like that. I told them all about you and it even put in a good word, you should be thanking me." Jenny's face scrunched up, nose wrinkling a bit in what Yaz could only call an expression of fond annoyance. "And like I said, they're very excited. Not often people come 'round anymore, not people interested in adopting. Usually lost people, took a wrong turn."' She looked disappointed at that, a little down-trodden. 

"Well, I'm here to meet them, so you best introduce us," Yaz said, not wanting that expression to linger for any longer than it had to. Odin followed them as they trailed through the gate and into the back rooms of the TARDIS, whining a bit when Jenny snapped the gate closed before he could slip through. 

Immediately, the only thing Yaz could hear was the overwhelming sound of barking as she took in the rest of the TARDIS. The kennels were fairly large, larger than the few shelters she'd been to as a child or on police business, with each dog getting its own run. She watched as some, more mild than others, wandered up to the front of their runs, staring at her with soulfully deep eyes. Each had a little tag hanging from the top of the door, artfully decorated with placement names that were all a little strange but completely on par with someone like Jenny. They looked handcrafted, like time had been put into each tag. 

"We're gonna go back there!" Jenny said over the noise of dogs barking, pointing towards a dark blue door at the far end of a line of kennels. "There's a place in there where you can sit down and such. C'mon!" She was moving forwards before Yaz could reply, grabbing her hand and tugging her down the corridor. 

Yaz got brief glances at the name tags as she was tugged along, managing to read a "River", a "Jack" and a "Disco" before she gave up trying and turned her attention to the dogs themselves. Most of them were on the larger side, some skinnier than others but all of them, no matter how excited they were, had an energetic, happy gleam in their eyes. It was clear that Jenny had given as much care and attention to each of them as she could.

Jenny bumped open the door with her shoulder, leading Yaz into the room. It was cozy inside, with a few cushions built up around the corners of the room, a chair or two scattered about the room. There were a few leashes hanging from a hook on the wall. Most of them were varying states of rainbow, strips of color bright against the plain white wall.

"Just wait here," Jenny said shortly. "I'll bring in the first dog. Make yourself comfy, sit on a chair or on the floor, they don't mind. Though, if you sit on the floor, make sure you're ready to be attacked. Playfully, of course, all of the dogs are very nice. It won't be an actual attack, don't worry."

She grabbed one of the leashes off the hook. Yaz found something endearing in the way Jenny rambled, the way her eyes lit up with excitement when she was talking about anything related to the dogs. The door thunked shut behind Jenny, leaving Yaz to listen to the barking of the dogs and the muffled words that Jenny was saying to them. She sounded happy, voice higher in octave slightly, but Yaz couldn’t make out what she was saying.

A moment late, Jenny pushed open the door, a young collie mix tugging on the leash. The dog immediately went to Yaz, sniffing her hand enthusiastically, circling around her, nudging her with its nose over and over before barking and running off to circle around Jenny who was still standing in the doorway. The leash had slipped from her fingers in the brief seconds before the door closed, but Jenny had made sure the little collie couldn't get out and was now leaning against the door, trying to keep the dog from nosing it open.

"Who is this?" Yaz asked, deciding to do her best to humor the other woman. There was an indignant huff from the collie when Jenny gently pushed her back towards Yaz but the dog circled back around to her, flopping onto the ground by Yaz's knee, just barely out of reach of her hand. 

"This is Sarah Jane," Jenny said. "She's been here for a few weeks now and she's got a lot of energy. A bit temperamental, but she's very loyal once she's gotten to know you." The other woman approached the two of them, crouching down next to Sarah Jane, running her fingers gently through the feathery fur of the dog.

"She's very sweet," Yaz said, watching the dog sniff Jenny's hand before, tail wagging, shoving her head under the palm. "How'd you find her?"

Jenny frowned then, hand stilling for a moment before she resumed stroking the dog's side. "Rescued her from a lake a few towns over," she said softly, voice carrying a note of something Yaz couldn’t quite place. "A friend of mine called me over when they came back from a boating trip. Apparently she'd been left on the banks of the lake and had gotten spooked by a passing car or boat or something. Don't know that part of the story." She sighed heavily, her shoulders sinking. “All I know is if my friend hadn’t found her, she probably wouldn’t have made it out. She was really weak when I got there.”

Yaz reached out and lightly touched Jenny's hand, hoping for permission to give comfort and instead the woman jumped, startled by the contact before a choked laugh left her. It sounded completely forced and Jenny didn’t move her hand away for a long moment, letting the contact linger.

"Anyway, I went up, brought her back here and with the help of a vet friend of mine, got her back to health and she's been here ever since. She loves going on walks or running about in the yard. Thought she might be a bit high energy for you but you never know." 

They didn't speak for the next few minutes. Jenny even left for a little while, citing the need for Sarah Jane and Yaz to be alone for a little while to get used to each other, but Yaz suspected she needed a minute to compose herself. She should have known better than to pry, but curiosity hadn't gotten the better of her and she made a mental note to not ask again. 

When Jenny returned, she clipped the least on Sarah Jane's collar with a tight smile in Yaz's direction before disappearing. Bracing herself for the next encounter, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the next dog that came in merely ambled up to her and looked her over before immediately laying down next to her, head in her lap. 

Yaz wasn't an expert in breeds, not in the least, so she couldn’t tell what this dog was, though it seemed to be a mix of some kinds, but it merely sauntered over and plopped its head into her lap. Though it was a bit bigger than she was hoping for, it seemed very calm and didn't so much as protest when she started stroking her fingers through the fur on its neck.

"That's Disco," Jenny said. "Old timer, he's been here for a while, poor guy. Most people want the puppies that come through, not the older dogs, but he's very sweet and low energy. Occasionally barks, but only when there's a threat. I think he's a lot older than he seems, he doesn't act like a young dog at all, but it's hard to tell with most rescues."

"How long has he been here?"

"Almost a year, I think," Jenny replied. "I'd have to check, I can't keep everything straight up here all the time." She tapped the side of her head, slouching against the door with a cool ease that Yaz hadn't thought possible of her. "He's definitely one of the dogs that's been here the longest. I was hoping that Ryan would want him, but he wanted a dog that could go for runs with him. Unfortunate."

Yaz nodded slowly, still running her fingers through the grey hair. Disco grumbled slightly in her lap, shifting to get more comfortable before immediately falling back into a light doze. "He's gotten quite comfy there, hasn't he?" she looked up at Jenny, eyes shining.

"Oh yeah, he'll nap anywhere," Jenny said. "Loves to sleep that one. 'nother reason why I think he's pretty old, he's not got the energy for anything." Yaz tilted her head, curious, and Jenny continued, starting to move her hands a bit. "I’m thinking he’s a hound of some kind, but I don’t know for sure. Don't think I've seen Disco chase a bird in his time here, though he's had plenty of opportunities."

Soon enough, Yaz's time with Disco was up and she was hesitant to bid goodbye to the gentle giant. Despite his size, he was so calm and content to just sit by her and let her pet him while Jenny rambled about different kinds of breeds and the various adventures that he'd gotten up to, choosing to directly ignore how he'd even wound up in the TARDIS in the first place.

The next few dogs (Jack, an energetic golden retriever that had spent most of the time running about the room and Sparrow, a small, yappy mutt who'd spent the entire time barking at Yaz and refusing to take more than a few steps into the room) didn't connect with Yaz as much as Jenny had thought they would, and Yaz got to her feet soon after Sparrow was taken back to her kennel.

"Probably best if she's the last one for the day, yeah?" Yaz asked and Jenny, though looking crestfallen, nodded a bit. When she came back to the little room and hung up the leash, she was talking before Yaz had a chance to say anything else.

"Really sorry to have you come out all this way again and not have you make the match that you liked," Jenny said. "I really thought Jack would have liked you but he could not stand still no matter what. He's usually that jumpy, though and-"

"Jenny," Yaz said, bringing the ramble to a screeching halt. "You mentioned fostering the other day? To make sure I've made a good match, yeah?"

"Well, yeah but-"

"I wanna try and foster Disco," Yaz said. "He seemed really sweet and I wanna give it a chance." It took a moment for the words to sink in with Jenny, but then there was a grin splitting her face and she was nodding enthusiastically.

"Yeah?" she said, almost dumbly. "I'll get you set up, don't worry. There's gonna be paperwork though, sorry about that."

"I've got all day," Yaz said in reply, allowing Jenny to herd her from the room, this time rambling about the different ways of fostering and Yaz was trying really hard to pay attention to what she was saying, but it was so hard when Jenny had that glimmer in her eyes, one of pride and complete adoration.

"-Yasmin Khan," Jenny was saying as she tuned back into what was being said. "You are an awesome human!" The declaration was made with surety and Yaz flushed, nodding shyly. Oh, that feeling was new. "C'mon, let's get you set up so you and Disco can get to know each other. Oh, he's gonna be so excited about this!" The door to the kennels closed behind them and Jenny rushed off to grab the different forms, leaving Yaz to stare after her with disguised longing. 

When Jenny came bounding back with paper and pen in hand, Yaz knew any attempt to deny feelings was completely pointless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, come yell at me on tumblr [@joanwolfe](https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/) or leave a kudos or a comment. Honestly I get excited just seeing that people are reading this so there's no obligation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disco gets settled in at Yaz's flat and Ryan makes a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad that y'all are liking Disco because here's a chapter full of him!

It took Jenny a long minute to get the paperwork assembled and signed in the right places, but she assured Yaz that she'd have it sorted out before Disco was scheduled to go home with her that Wednesday.

"Gotta give you time to prepare," the woman said, grinning eagerly as she made copies of the paperwork. "And get the fee processed. Oh, and to tell Disco the good news. Feel free to drop by anytime on Wednesday, just give me a call in advance and then you can take him home. Usually here pretty early in the morning and I don't leave until about 6."

"And it's two months?" Yaz asked, leaning against the counter in her best attempt to look cool. It wasn't going as well as she hoped it would, but Jenny didn't even seem to notice. "I decide after two months whether or not it's a fit?"

"Don't sound so skeptical," Jenny said. "Two months is plenty of time to figure out whether or not you're compatible with someone. Uni taught me that, had a roommate for the first semester and by the end of the first week we were already begging to switch with other people." She chuckled before shaking her head a bit. "Sorry, shouldn't be rambling about things not related to dogs. Just give me a ring if you have any problems or any concerns. Seein' as this is your first dog and all, I really want you to do well. There's nothing worse than not getting the help you need."

"I'll definitely call you if anything comes up," Yaz said, flicking with unseeing eyes through the paperwork. She'd not read any of the words by the time she made it through the first stack, too busy eyeing Jenny from the corner of her eye, trying to catch a glimpse of that bright smile. "So..." she trailed off, wondering if it was inappropriate. In for a penny, in for a pound, she thought, setting the paperwork to the side. She wasn't going to read it after all, it was too distracting. "You went to uni?"

For a moment, she thought she overstepped some unspoken boundary. Jenny had frozen a bit, her shoulders tense, eyes going distant and a bit unfocused before she shifted minutely. It seemed to move her out of whatever had overcome her, but when she spoke there was a wistful grief at the edges of her voice.

"For a few years, yeah," she said. "Not very long. Got a degree, moved on, couldn't really afford it and it wasn't the place for me. Loved learning, don't get me wrong, but the grades, the constant pressure and a few other things drove me to pursue something else. Did manage to get something in veterinary sciences, interned at a shelter as a tech for a few summers as well as a proper clinic. That way it were easy to come into this after-" She cut herself off quickly, clearing her throat a bit. "Anyway, yes, went to uni but didn't really work well with a lot of the things there."

"Interesting," Yaz said, wondering if she was avoiding talking about her time in the army. "So you worked at some vet clinics before?"

"Oh yeah, a good two or three," Jenny said, looking relieved to veer back into that territory. "Were really nice most of the time, helping animals, though there were some things about it that I couldn't stomach. Probably why I'm running this place now instead of at a proper vet. Besides, plenty of stray dogs around, they need a home like any other dog. Doin' my best with this place, trying to give 'em good homes."

"You're doin' a really good job," Yaz replied, resisting the urge to grab the other woman's hand. "This place is really nice and the dogs clearly adore you." 

"Thanks, Yaz," Jenny said, something like a blush started to creep up her neck. They stared at each other, Yaz unable to look away from the eyes that were so sad but so intelligent. She didn't know why Jenny wasn't speaking, wasn't doing anything to break the near constant eye contact but she wasn't complaining. "Erm, back to business." Jenny cleared her throat, picked up the discarded papers and started shuffling through them, explaining what each of them was to Yaz.

Adjusting to life with Disco took a little while, but Yaz found that she was glad to come home to the dog every day after her shift ended, even after the first two days. There was something about settling down onto her couch, book in hand, Disco stretched out on her lap that felt right. For once, she felt at home in her flat and she found that her mood improved even more at work. Her co-workers, at the very least, commented on her change in attitude. 

Ryan was the first one to come over and see Disco, arriving in her flat mere days after Disco had gotten home. He'd come over unannounced, having only texted her that he was coming over at some point, but never specified a time.

"Oh he's beautiful," Ryan said the moment he walked through the door. Disco, who had been laying on the bed that Yaz had gotten him, got to his paws and ambled over to Ryan, letting the man pat him on the head before ambling back to his bed and flopping back down with a small huff. "Friendly too."

"He doesn't think you're a threat," Yaz said, pulling Ryan into a short embrace. "Good to see you."

"You too," Ryan said. "Nice place, looks better than the last time I was here anyway." He'd been there when she moved in, had helped move most of the boxes when her parents were forced to leave early for one reason or another.

"Tea?" 

"If it's not a trouble," Ryan said, taking a seat on the couch, close to where he could reach over and pet Disco on the back. "Is his name really Disco?"

"That's what Jenny said," Yaz replied, bustling about her kitchen. "Since I'm just fostering him I don't really have a choice as to what I call him. Besides, I kinda like it. It suits him." 

"Jenny really knows how to pick names for dogs," Ryan said with a chuckle. "She's the one who named Renegade you know. Didn't think I'd like it, but it works for him."

"Please tell me you at least shorten it sometimes?" Yaz said, raising an eyebrow from where she was in the kitchen. She was glad she'd gone for a more open concept flat. The sofa was just visible from where she she was standing, leaning against the counter by the refrigerator. "Renegade is a mouthful of a name to yell when he gets loose during runs."

"He does not get loose!" Ryan protested and Yaz chuckled at the indignation in his voice. "But Graham calls him Ren sometimes. Can't believe he actually responds to it but maybe grandad just has a way with dogs."

Yaz finished making the tea, fixing it like she remembered Ryan liking it before carrying two mugs out to the living room, settling down on the only other chair in the room. 

"So...how's Jenny doing?" Ryan asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I was hoping you would know," Yaz said. "She's your friend. I'm just fostering one of her dogs at the moment." 

"Oh c'mon, don't pull that with me," Ryan said. "You couldn't shut up about getting to see her again and now that I finally got you sat down to properly talk about it, you won't say anything?"

"There's nothing to say, Ryan," Yaz retorted, trying to keep the bite out of her tone. With a small huff, she took a long sip of her tea, letting it warm her insides. "I went to the TARDIS, met some of the dogs, did the paperwork. Went back on Wednesday and drove home with Disco."

"You didn't talk to Jen at all?" Ryan asked. "That's not like her, usually can't get her to shut up."

"We talked a bit," Yaz said. "Mostly about Disco and what it would take for me to care for him properly and I got her to talk about uni a little bit but she froze up and I didn't want to push it. Besides, she's probably not that comfortable around me. We're practically strangers."

"She was so excited to meet you though." Ryan hummed quietly, sipping his tea slowly. Disco lifted his head at the sound and got to his feet, wandering over to the couch to sit by Ryan's feet. There was still some curiosity in him, it seemed. "Grandad and I told her a lot about you, she seemed really eager to get a chance to talk to you. That's one of the reasons I recommended the TARDIS to you. That an' because it's such a great place, of course."

"Nice save," Yaz teased and Ryan flushed. "I don't claim to know, though, Ry." She set her tea to the side, curling up into the chair. The thing was old, something she'd picked up at a thrift shop that had caught her eye on the way home from work. it was worn in places, the fabric a bit thin in others, but it was one of the best purchases she'd made, and Disco seemed to enjoy curling up on it when she wasn't home. "Maybe I didn't live up to the expectation you set of me?"

"Maybe she's just nervous," Ryan said. "Jenny has a tendency to be a bit socially awkward. You should go out for coffee or something, get to know her some outside of that environment."

"Ryan," Yaz scolded. "I'm not going to ask the person I want to adopt a dog from to go for coffee with me. That's weird."

"Then maybe Grandad and I could have a party or something," Ryan said. "Or you could go volunteer there. Just something."

"Why are you so invested in this?" Yaz asked. "She's probably just not interested in making friends and were being polite so I could adopt through her. She were just doin' her job, nothing more."

"Whatever," Ryan said, shaking his head. "So Disco's settling in well then? You think you're gonna adopt him properly?"

"He's doin well," Yaz replied, motioning Disco over to her. He stared at her for a long moment before getting to his paws and wandering over to where Yaz was sitting, climbing up onto the chair, nearly smothering her in the process. "As you can see, he's very comfortable with me." Her voice came out a little strained, Disco's elbow digging in her side painfully. 

"Good," Ryan said. They sat and chatted for the rest of the afternoon, mostly about work and the little events that had been going on, a bit about the dogs. Whenever the topic strayed to anything near Jenny, Yaz shifted it back to a comfortable territory, even when she saw Ryan frown. She didn't want to talk about it.

When Ryan left that evening, Yaz let the door fall shut with a little sigh of relief. Disco had remained on his armchair, stretched out comfortably while staring at her, eyes large and soulful. She shook her head, looking away from him.

"Don't look at me like that," she muttered, walking back into the living room. "I didn't want to talk about it, okay?" Disco continued to stare at her. "LIsten, I'm not gonna justify myself to you. You're a dog, what do you know." He quirked his head to the side and she reached over to scratch behind his ears. "I'm completely mad. Now I'm talking to dogs." 

Her mobile sat on the coffee table, accusatory in its presence and she flipped it over.

"I'm not interested in Jenny and she's certainly not interested in me, no matter how I feel. She could barely get a word out around me, probably only helped me because I was there for a dog." She still was talking to nobody but the empty air and she settled onto the couch with a small huff of annoyance. Even if she did get back into contact with Jenny, what would she say other than 'I want to adopt Disco' but it was still a bit too early to know whether or not that would be true.

"I'm hopeless," she whispered to the open air, putting her hand over her face.

Moments later, her phone buzzed gently from the table. Disco made a noise, a short grumble of annoyance and maybe confusion (she was still figuring out what his vocalizations meant) to the table as the phone continued to vibrate, only pausing a couple times. There must have been at least 5 buzzes before it finally fell silent. Yaz sighed, reaching out to grab the phone, her other arm still flung over her eyes.

After unlocking at the phone, she glanced down and noticed that she'd gotten six messages. Two from Ryan, one from Sonya, and another three from Jenny. With a startled noise, she sat up, gripping the phone tighter as she stared at the taunting three next to Jenny's name. Disco whined quietly but fell silent the moment that she looked up at him.

"You think I should read them, Disco?" Yaz asked, then chuckled, shaking her head. "Right, sorry, you're still a dog and you can't answer back." She took a deep breath, scrolling through the texts from Ryan and Sonya, avoiding Jenny's contact for just the moment. She'd get to that when she was feeling a bit braver. 

**Ryan [5:34 PM]: u know, u should just text her  
Ryan [5:35 PM]: grandad agrees with me ;p now u gotta do it **

Yaz scoffed, scrolling past without gracing it with a response. He could be so childish at times, but she appreciated the push in the direction. Then again, just to get back at him, she would respond later, so she moved to Sonya's message.

**Sonya [5:35 PM]: mum and dad want to come over to see the new dog and have dinner. tell me when you've got your next day off so we can prepare.**

That one she did respond to, opening her calendar and firing off the date back to her, glancing up at Disco as she did so. He'd reacted calmly to everyone else that had come by, so she was sure he'd be fine with her family. Yaz clicked her tongue, patting her thigh and he hopped off the armchair, moving over to the couch to hop onto her, curling up on her legs with a small grumble and more than a few adjustments. The warm weight on her legs helped settle her nerves, the mere presence of the dog calming her.

The notification for Jenny's messages still lingered in the top bar of her phone and the little three blinked up at her from the contact info. Why was she so nervous about this? Maybe Jenny just needed something else for paperwork and by procrastinating opening the message, she'd just make it worse for herself. 

Besides, she'd already accepted that Jenny would be nothing more than the woman who was helping her adopt Disco, Ryan's friend and a polite person that had been kind enough to help her out. There was no reason to avoid talking to her and, if Ryan was to be believed, she'd be fine asking for extra paperwork. 

"'m not scared," Yaz told herself, scratching Disco behind the ear for emotional support. She opened the contact, looking down at the messages. 

**Jenny [5:34 PM]: Hiya Yaz, it's Jenny from the TARDIS!  
Jenny [5:34 PM]: Oh, wait, you've already got my number, forgot that.   
Jenny [5:35 PM]: Anyway, I hope that Disco is settling in well. I know you'll do well with him and don't hesitate to reach out if you need any help. I'm always prepared to answer questions or lend a hand if you need it. **

She'd just started to type up responding messages, starting so many different ways (Hi Jenny Good to hear from y Disco is definitely settling) when another message popped up below the others.

**Jenny [5:40 PM] Sorry for spamming you, but I was wondering if you'd like to get some coffee sometime? Been meaning to ask, wanted to get to know you better.**

Heart racing, Yaz set the phone down. How did she respond to that? Texting back yes would probably be too eager but she couldn't formulate a reply. Jenny wanted to take her for coffee. Jenny, who was probably almost definitely straight. Jenny, who had been into the army (not that she knew that Yaz knew). Jenny, who had gone to uni but hadn't gone back because of how well it fit her. It was nerve wracking, terrifying, and Yaz couldn't get enough of the thrill. 

**Yaz [5:45 PM] Glad to hear from you. Disco is doing well and settling in brilliantly. It's good to have someone to come home to every night.  
Yaz [5:45 PM] I'd love to get coffee sometimes. My family's coming over on my next day off, but I can swing around the TARDIS on Sunday if you're open. **

Almost immediately, she got a reply, and Yaz bit her lip to keep a grin from splitting her lip.

**Jenny [5:46 PM]: Sunday's brilliant!  
Jenny [5:56 PM]: Glad to hear about Disco, I knew he would be fine there  
Jenny [5:46 PM]: There's an awesome coffee shop near the police station that I love to go to. We can meet there if you like? **

**Yaz [5:47 PM]: I love that place. See you there about 2?**

**Jenny [5:47 PM]: Definitely. I'll see you then!**

Yaz tossed her phone to the side, breathing out heavily. She hated getting ahead of herself, but she couldn't help it sometimes. And this was one of those times. It may have been a simple coffee date between friends, but Yaz wanted it to be more and she wanted to hope that Jenny felt the same. 

Scratching Disco behind the ears, waking the dog from the doze that he had fallen into, Yaz sighed happily, relaxing back against the couch. Ryan was right, though she was loath to admit it. And now she couldn't wait for Sunday to come, even if it was just for a cup of coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone. There's one more chapter after this, then an epilogue, and then we're done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for Yaz's coffee date with Jenny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is everyone, the final chapter. There's an epilogue after this that kinda wraps everything up with a nice bow, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos. I know I haven't replied to them, but they are greatly appreciated. I'm glad that some people are enjoying reading this as much as I am. 
> 
> Anyway, onward!

It was fifteen to two, and Yaz was already sitting in the cafe, freshly changed from work and nervous as she could be. This was even worse than when she went to get Disco because she had no idea how this was going to go. Jenny had asked her to coffee (she was still reeling from it, but there was little time to dwell on that) so at least Yaz knew that Jenny wanted her company. The thing was, they were meeting outside the professional bounds of Yaz adopting a dog. But what if she messed it up? Words were always harder to get out in the proper order around women, and Yaz just knew that she would mess this up horribly.

Getting to the shop early hadn't done anything for her nerves. In fact, it had made it even worse. It gave her time to think about what would happen during the drinks, all the things that could go wrong, all the ways that she could mess it up. She gripped the coffee mug even tighter in her grip, wondering if she should just get up and go. No, that would make her feel even worse than she felt now. 

Give yourself a chance, Yaz, she told herself. You've got this.

The last few days of work had given her a right run of it. As they drew closer to summer holidays, there was an uptick in teens that got into trouble purely for the reason of getting into trouble. Though she hated being sent out to deal with kids spray painting old buildings or sneaking into closed off homes, at least she wasn't stuck behind the desk all day. 

The door to the cafe burst open with a happy little ring and Yaz's eyes sought out the door, trying to see if it was Jenny. She deflated when she saw that it was just a tall ginger woman and a shy-looking man that she was dragging on along behind her. She watched the two for a while, deducing that they must have been married (she saw matching gold bands on their fingers and the way that the man looked at the woman could only be described as love struck) and finding herself amused as the woman rattled off an order, waving her hands in the air for emphasis.

A hand fell onto her shoulder and Yaz jumped, startled by the contact. Her defensive instincts kicked in, and she'd let go of the mug with a hand to reach back and give whoever had touched her a piece of her mind when a voice stopped her.

"Sorry I'm late? Or early? Not sure." It was Jenny, and Yaz let her hand fall onto the table. "How long have you been waiting?"

"A few minutes," Yaz lied. It would be embarrassing to tell her that she'd been there for upwards of twenty minutes, anxiously glancing at her phone, at the clock, trying to speed the hands of time faster while fighting apprehension. "You should probably order. I'm not going anywhere." She threw in a teasing for good measure and when she looked back at Jenny the other woman was beaming. 

Once Jenny had made her way to the counter and was waiting to order, Yaz allowed herself a moment to get a good look at the other woman. She didn't have her signature coat this time (it was far too hot), and she was wearing a simple button down, the sleeves rolled up past her elbows. Her hair was disheveled, blonde locks sticking up in random places but she didn't seem to care, even running her hands through them while she was walking, probably trying to straighten it out. 

Yaz realized that she was staring when her eyes strayed back to Jenny's face and the woman was grinning at her brightly. Flushing, Yaz looked away and stared at her coffee. She was just embarrassing herself. What was left of her quickly cooling coffee didn't provide her the answers that she was looking for and she was almost disappointed by it. There was little to be gained from looking at her coffee the whole time, so she risked a glance back up to see that Jenny's back was to her. She was ordering, hands waving enthusiastically as she motioned to the board, trying to communicate her order to the barista. The poor woman was looking more confused than anything else and she was nodding along with whatever Jenny was saying.

Chuckling to herself, Yaz checked her phone and replied to a message from Ryan wishing her luck along with a picture of him and Disco. She'd left him to dog sit while she was away and she hoped that Disco would be alright.

When she looked up again, Jenny was making her way over to the table, weaving between chairs, a plate in hand along with a mug. She sat down with a little hum of excitement, a large muffin on her plate that she was looking at with a mixture of hunger and excitement. Then she finally met Yaz's eyes and Yaz felt her heart fly into her throat at the depth of emotion there.

"I'm really glad you came, Yaz," Jenny said. "Like I said, been meaning to talk to you for a while. Outside of the whole dog thing, though that weren’t bad." She flushed, giving an adorable huff and Yaz let herself linger in the thought for a moment before returning her attention back on Jenny. "Anyway, how've you been? Is Disco doin' alright?"

"He's doing great, Jenny," Yaz said, hoping to calm the torrent of words that she was quickly getting lost in. "Took him a few days to get into the rhythm but he's been nothing but a superstar. Ryan came over the other day and met him and he barely lifted his head. My family came over last night and he was interested but he didn't bark. He sleeps well every night and he's not torn anything up while I've been at work. We’ve also been getting on fine."

"Oh, that's good," Jenny said, seeming to sink with relief. "I'm always worried when I pair up a dog and owner, just the usual thoughts of did I make the right choice or were there a better dog for that owner or something else inevitably. I want to make sure the dog is alright and the owner is alright and I've made the occasional mistake and-" she cut herself off, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm taking up the whole conversation. Meant to be getting to know you." She took a giant bite out of her muffin, sending crumbs everywhere.

"Don't worry about it," Yaz said. "I should be getting to know you too."

"So," Jenny said, setting the muffin on the table and leaning forward on her elbows. "Tell me about Yasmin Khan. I mean, Ryan's told me a bit about you, but he never goes into detail. Frustrating, but he always says it's better to hear it from the source so here I am." She gave the charming grin, one that Yaz was sure could persuade her to do anything. 

"Well..." Yaz trailed off, wondering where to start. Her job seemed like a safe bet, seeing as she'd already been to Jenny's place of work many times over. "'m a police officer-"

"Oh! So you really knew this place," Jenny said. "Thought you meant you'd been by here a few times before while out and about. Didn't think you worked just up the road." She chuckled slightly. "Oh, interrupted. Sorry. Keep going. Police officer?"

"Yeah," Yaz said, unable to help the chuckle that left her. "Probationary at the moment, though I'm hoping to get some good cases soon. Just recently moved out of my parents flat-don't laugh!" She fixed Jenny with a slight glare that softened the moment the other woman shook her head, muffling a smile behind an open hand. "Anyway, I wasn’t used to an empty flat. Were feeling a bit lonely and Ryan convinced me to get a dog. That's about it."

"C'mon, there's gotta be more to Yasmin Khan than that!" Jenny said, leaning even further forward, now taking up over half the table. "What about your family? If you don't mind sharing."

"I've got my mum and my dad," Yaz said. "Then a sister, Sonya. She's a pain in my arse, she and I always fought as little kids but we've gotten closer recently. Got less antagonizing towards each other and a bit more sympathetic. Still can’t stand her sometimes, she never looks up from her phone."

"That's always good," Jenny said. "Siblings can be a right pain, but they're pretty cool too."

"You got any siblings?" Yaz asked. Jenny's face fell again and Yaz rushed to cover it up. She couldn't just ignore it this time around. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me if you mind sharing. Forget I said anything."

They sat in silence for a few good minutes after that, Jenny seemingly lost in memory while Yaz struggled to keep from babbling like an idiot. She fixed her gaze back on her coffee, sipping the now cold liquid, wincing at the taste. 

"Being a police officer sounds really interestin'," Jenny said after a long moment. "Really brave of you, to do that." She hummed thoughtfully after that statement, looking out the window nearest them. "I were the army a few years ago, but Ryan probably already told you that." She scoffed, eyes hardening for a moment. Yaz wanted to deny the claim, but she knew it was true.

"He didn't tell me much," Yaz reassured her. "Just that you served and started the TARDIS afterwards. Nothing about anything. He wanted me to ask you."

"Ryan Sinclair, matchmaker," Jenny joked, though it fell flat on the table between them. "Nice of him not to mention it too much. He respects that at the very least." She didn't sound bitter, but there was a tone similar to that. Yaz fought the urge to defend Ryan (she couldn't, not really) and instead reached across the table and let her fingers rest on Jenny's knuckles.

"I still want to hear about it from you. If you want to. If not, I totally get it, but it would be nice to hear more about you?" Yaz was fumbling her words, she knew it, but the smile on Jenny's face told her that it was working, even just a tiny bit. "Or you can tell me more about the TARDIS. How you came to name it that, for one thing."

"Oi, the name is the best part!" Jenny protested, but she was back to grinning. It was a little tighter than before, a little burdened, but it was a smile nonetheless. "You don't think the dogs there are totally awesome?" 

"I don't know if totally awesome is the right-" Yaz teased slyly, but was cut off by Jenny's indignant gasp.

"Yasmin Khan!" Jenny looked properly aghast. Her palm was pressed to her sternum and she looked as though she might faint. The volume of her exclamation drew the attention of some of the patrons, but Yaz found that she didn't care all that much. "How dare you imply that my dogs are anything less than completely brilliant! I'm shocked that you would dare to say such a thing in my presence. I'll be telling the others about this, you be sure of it."

"Oh come off it," Yaz laughed. "I weren't bein' serious."

"You've betrayed my trust Yasmin Khan, I can't forgive that," Jenny said, dramatically throwing her hand over her forehead. 

"Come off it!" Yaz protested, feeling her face heat up. "I love the dogs there, really. They're all very sweet and the greatest dogs in Sheffield."

"Can I get that statement on the record?" Jenny asked. "Great review that would be. Leaves little room for doubt."

"I'll be sure to leave a good yelp review," Yaz said, glad to finally be calming down. “So, time in the army?”

Jenny froze for a moment before nodding slowly. “I was a field medic for a lot of the time. Quick learner me, I picked up some first aid in uni and even doubled up to get my pre-med qualifications out of the way. Didn’t realize how much I’d hate it.” She sighed and shook her head. “Things were fine. Only did a single tour but there was a strike on the center where I worked. Took out almost everyone but me, and I came back home. That’s when I met Grace, she was my nurse back here while I recovered from the wounds I sustained.” She swallowed thickly.

“Oh, Jenny, I’m sorry for asking,” Yaz said, rubbing a hand over her face. She’d made a huge blunder. 

“It’s alright,” Jenny said. “You were curious. No harm, no foul. I swear.” But she still wasn’t smiling like she’d been before, her eyes taking a glossy distance to them. Guilt still soured Yaz’s gut.

“Still shouldn’t have pushed. I’m sorry.” Jenny gave a noncommittal hum and took a sip of her coffee (the first one that Yaz could remember seeing her take) and made a face. "Cold?"

"Forgot I wasn't a big fan of coffee," Jenny retorted, returning to her muffin with gusto. "The muffin, however, is to die for. Can't win all of them." She shrugged slightly and continued to eat. The conversation lulled a bit after that, giving Yaz time to sip her own cold coffee, fighting a grimace. 

"If you weren't a big fan of coffee," Yaz began, almost startling herself with the words and definitely startling Jenny. "Why did you invite me to a coffee shop?" 

"Coffee shops are great places to meet!" Jenny exclaimed. "Muffins, for one thing. Delicious. You can meet at any time of day and people don't stare at you strangely. It's inside and there's not always coffee. Sometimes there's hot chocolate." 

"Why didn't you get a hot chocolate then?" Yaz asked. "Or a nice tea? Not a cup of coffee."

"Wanted to seem sophisticated. Not worth it," Jenny said. "In case you were wondering. Never getting coffee again." She stuck her tongue out, face pinching in an adorable expression of disgust. Yaz had to wonder if she'd comically exaggerated the expression or if she really found it that bad.

"It was a good idea," Yaz said, giggling. Giggling? Since when did Yasmin Khan giggle? "Though next time you can just get whatever you want. No need to seem sophisticated, I don't really mind." 

"So there's gonna be a next time then?" Jenny asked, edge of hopefulness in her voice.

"If you want there to be," Yaz said. "Figured you'd want to hear an update about how Disco is doing and such." That wasn't the only reason, she knew it and Jenny probably knew it but she was too chicken to say it out loud. "Only seems right." Jenny's face fell and she mentally threw caution into the wind. To hell with it. "And I want to get to know you better. Ryan's always talkin' about you but never answers my questions."

"He's mean like that," Jenny said, bottom lip jutting out in an approximation of a pout. "Whenever I ask questions he tells me to read a book or look it up. 'I don't have all the answers, Jenny' he tells me."

"So it's agreed then? We'll keep getting coffee, keep chatting each other's ears off about dogs and random things that tickle our fancy?" Yaz asked, leaning forward herself. Muffin crumbs littered the table, she'd been wanting them out of her clothes when she got home but she found herself unable to care any less about it. 

"Of course," Jenny said. "Coffee with Yaz? Sounds brilliant." She glanced down at her watch then, jumping slightly. "Oh! I've gotta go. Sorry to rush out so quickly, there was someone wanting to come and meet one of the dogs and I'm gonna be late-"

"Let me drive you," Yaz offered, getting to her feet. She was already grabbing her purse, already reaching for her keys. "Don't want you to be late after all." It was only then that she looked up at Jenny and saw the adoring look in her eyes. "If you want to, of course. Sorry."

"No, no, I want to." Jenny leaned forward eagerly. "Erm, let me just text the person that I might be late and then I'll be ready to go." She stuck her tongue out a bit as she focused on typing, eyes crossing a bit before she finished and shoved her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "Alright, let's get a shift on!"

The drive was longer than it normally was, with Jenny hesitantly turning on the radio then babbling the whole way there, mostly about one of the dogs that had recently gotten at the shelter, a small spaniel mix named Sam that was 'a little challenging, Yaz, but he's got a lot of potential.' Intermingled with the anecdotes, she was giving directions that were almost impossible to follow. Yaz let the words wash over her without really processing most of them. It was enough to just hear Jenny talking and she almost hated when they parted ways at the TARDIS. There was already another car in the driveway and a young black woman was standing by the door, holding hands with another woman with curly hair. 

"I'll text you later," Jenny said, opening the door of the car. "We should go for dinner or something soon.”

"A date?" Yaz asked before she could help herself. Jenny flushed, waving her hands about, mouth opening without any words coming out.

"Erm, yeah," she settled on eventually. "Make sure you dress nice." With a wink that was a little awkward but still enough to make Yaz's insides turn to jelly, Jenny leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Then she was gone, the car door closing, and she was waving at the two women on the steps of the TARDIS. Yaz watched her go with a small smile, hand drifting to where the other woman’s lips had been.

Coffee had gone extremely well. And when Disco greeted her when she returned to the flat, Yaz still beaming from the interaction, she knew that deciding to adopt a dog had been the best thing she’d done. Her cheek tingled all evening and she lay on the couch after dinner, watching telly with Disco slumped in his armchair, the moment replaying in her mind until she went to bed that night.


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's two months later and Yaz has finally signed the papers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! Thanks to everyone who left comments or kudos or even just read this. I like to think that, for my first multi-chapter Thasmin fic that everything went well. Here's the epilogue and there will be info on my upcoming projects in the end notes. Thanks again!

~Two Months Later~

“Yaz, can’t you sign any faster? It’s not like I’m making you sign your life away to my cult or something. Just the final papers for Disco." Jenny was leaning over her shoulder, practically breathing down her neck while Yaz looked over the stack of paperwork in her hands. It had been decided that Disco was a perfect fit for the Khan flat (Yaz's, not her parents, though her family had loved him too) and she'd made the official decision to adopt just a week prior. 

That had brought her back to the TARDIS, not that she minded. It was quickly growing to be one of her favorite places in Sheffield, the little doors and the peeling paint and the seemingly infinite space inside the building. Not to mention the occupants and owner.

"Jen, I'm still going to read all the documents."

"So you don't trust me?" Jenny was pouting, Yaz could hear it in her voice and she refused to turn around and even grace her with a look. 

The two of them had.....gotten much closer in the two months since their coffee date. And it had been a coffee date, which was established at the dinner that happened later that week, with Jenny spluttering in indignant confusion at the proposal that it had been anything but. 

"I trust you completely, babe," Yaz said, tapping the back of the pen against her teeth until Jenny gave a protesting huff. "But I like to read the legal documents. You may have made an error somewhere and I don't want there to be any contention about me owning Disco." 

Jenny pulled away from her then, flopping back in her rolling office chair. A recent addition, one that Yaz had made when she noticed that Jenny spent most of her paperwork time stooped over the desk. It was, of course, for purely selfish reasons. She was tired of hearing Jenny complain about back aches when she spent the night and it made her happy to sit and spin for unreasonable amounts of time. 

"I can't believe you think I'd make an error like that," Jenny muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she slowly spun in circles. "You're so mean."

"If I'm so mean," Yaz said, setting the paperwork down. Jenny groaned slightly, continuing to spin before Yaz stuck her foot out and stopped the chair. She cocked a hip, rested her hand against it and turned to look Jenny in the eyes. She was flushing, avoiding eye contact. Bingo. "Why did you decide to date me?"

"I thought you were nicer back then!" Jenny said, letting out an undignified squawk of surprise when Yaz used her foot to push the chair in a circle. "This is bullying!"

"You're such a child," Yaz laughed, helping the chair come to a stop. She braced her arms against the arm rests, looming over Jenny by just the slightest bit. Jenny pouted up at her, lip jutting out in an almost comical expression.

"Don't you know you're supposed to be nice to your girlfriend? Pretty sure there's a rule about that somewhere. There's gotta be something in those papers." She motioned behind Yaz's back pointedly, "About being nice to your girlfriend."

"Well..." Yaz trailed off, letting her fingers tighten just the tightest bit about the arm of the chair. She watched Jenny closely, waiting for any sign that anything was wrong, but her girlfriend only stared up at her defiantly, daring her to speak. "I'm not sure if I've seen that rule. But, I'm sure we can negotiate it into the paperwork."

"Negotiat-mmph!" Her hasty protest was cut off by Yaz's lips pressing to her own. She didn't complain too much about it, only giving a small grumble before leaning back into her, arms moving from her lap up to Yaz's biceps, holding them loosely. When Yaz pulled away (and Jenny chased her lips for another, shorter kiss) she looked down at Jenny, smiling fondly.

"Now, where was I?" She picked the paperwork back up again, acting as though she'd not just snogged the brains out of her girlfriend. Jenny's breathing had gotten a tad heavier, her face flushed, and Odin's bark made her jump in surprise. "You're very jumpy today, Jen."

"Just excited," she said, motioning Odin to come over to her. He'd gotten a lot better at listening to her, but sometimes he still preferred to go his own way. "I mean, it's official today. Big change and all that. We should celebrate! I know Graham and Ryan would love to come over and see Disco. Ryan practically-"

"I was thinking we could celebrate ourselves?" Yaz said quietly. "You, me, Disco. We could go to the park, have a picnic, stargaze a bit?" She bit her lip, reaching out to stroke Odin's back as he walked past her. She wasn't scared, per say, but she was always nervous. They'd not done much more than go for dinner or coffee when their schedules allowed. Even Yaz's time volunteering was spent filled with tasks, not romantic moments of sneaking off.

"Oh." Jenny fell silent for a long moment. She’d probably not been expecting the request and Yaz had an urge to call the words back, swallow them until she'd never spoken them, but then a small grin broke out on Jenny's face that quickly grew as the seconds ticked by. "Oh Yaz, that's brilliant," she said. "I'd love it. Oh, I know a ton of places we could go to get the best picnic stuff. Believe me, I'll get it done!"

She lurched to her feet, pushing away from her chair with an almost manic giggle. She stopped to kiss Yaz, deep and romantic before urging Odin ahead of her.

"It'll be the best date you've ever been on!" Then she'd slipped out the door, leaving Yaz to hang onto the papers and the pen, staring after her in wonder.

"Alright," she said to the empty air, shaking her head. She'd certainly picked a strange one, but she knew that she wouldn't want it any other way.

~~~~~~~~~~

There was a shuffle from behind her, and Yaz chuckled, eyelids fluttering against Jenny's palms. "Can I look yet babe?" A huff of frustration puffed next to her ear.

"You asked that a second ago," Jenny replied, her hands still firm over Yaz's eyes. "And you say I'm a child. Show a little patience." The edge of teasing to her tone soothed any bite that the statement may have had. They continued on, Yaz silently counting their paces as they went, she had been since they'd left the car. It had been a 20 minute car ride by her estimation (she wasn't so good at keeping track of time like Jenny was, who seemed to have a propensity for knowing exactly what time it was without looking at a clock) but they could have been anywhere.

Finally, after another 40 paces, Jenny pulled her hands away from Yaz's eyes. Stretched out before her, on a gentle sloping hill, was an old quilt, patterned seemingly at random. Atop the quilt was Disco, who was sleeping quietly on the corner, head flopped over on the grass as he snuffled quietly in sleep. There was a basket, a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne and then there was Jenny, going around Yaz and standing bashfully.

"You said you didn't want a big celebration, so I thought just the three of us could, you know, have some dinner then watch the stars? At least, that's what you said you wanted and so I thought I'd get it all together for you." She looked nervous, almost shy, scratching the back of her neck as she refused to look at Yaz. 

"It's perfect, Jen," Yaz said, practically tackling her with a hug. Arms about her neck, face nestled into the junction of her shoulder and neck, content to just breathe in her scent. She smelled of custard cream (something that Yaz had found were a staple of the woman's diet, much to her horror) and grass and something that was so uniquely Jenny that Yaz knew she'd never find it anywhere else.

_Love,_ she thought, hearing Jenny's nervous chuckle as the hug was returned by slightly clumsy, slender arms circling her waist. _This is what love feels like._ With the thought clinging to her mind, she pulled back, dropping a chaste kiss to Jenny's collarbone before looking down at the picnic baskets.

"If it's full of custard creams," she said slowly, drawing Jenny's eyes back to hers. "I'm going to take Disco and I'm going to get real food."

"Not fair Yaz!" Jenny exclaimed. Disco snapped up at the sound, grumbling at being disturbed and wandered over to the two of them, pausing for a few pets to the head before collapsing back on the quilt. "I went and got sandwiches from that shop you really like! And had Graham make a cake and everything." Her face softened then. "I wanted to make sure you loved it."

"I love it," Yaz said. _I love you,_ she thought, but swallowed the words. It wasn't the time, the place. She didn't want to sneak it up on Jenny, especially not after a few months of dating. The feelings would be there still when time passed, if they were sincere. 

They stood like that for a long time, swaying in the gentle breeze of the afternoon until a slight shuffling and snorting sound drew Yaz's attention down to the ground once more. There, with his nose buried in the basket, Disco was digging through the food and taking his pick of the best sandwiches.

"Disco!" Jenny and Yaz exclaimed, perhaps a millisecond between them. He looked up, blinked slowly at them before continuing on. While Jenny huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, Yaz only laughed and curled closer to her girlfriend, seeking warmth and companionship.

"Thank you for this," Yaz murmured and Jenny relaxed, sniffing quietly.

"Woulda' gone better if he'd not eaten the food, but the sky is still pretty," Jenny said. "And I've still got you here. You didn't take the dog and bolt."

"I'm not gonna bolt," Yaz said, patting her on the back in consolation.

Disco eventually moved on from the picnic basket and Jenny fished a packet of Custard Creams from her pocket, splitting them with Yaz with that smug smile on her face. She pointed out stars to Yaz as Disco cuddled up between them and Yaz sighed happily, letting Jenny's voice wash over her. She'd pay attention in a moment, but was content to sit in the space between seconds, here with her favorite person and her favorite dog. As their fingers linked together across the quilt, Yaz knew that she'd finally not be alone anymore. 

When the world had fallen silent around them, Yaz twisted around to look at Jenny. "I'm staying right here. With you." She paused for a moment, feeling Jenny's muscles still tense under her fingers. "Whatever happens." Jenny slumped against her and Yaz held her close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are friends! So, for upcoming projects I've got a lot in the works. The biggest probably is an arrange marriage au for thasmin with a twist (if you've seen it on my tumblr, you know what's coming) and I'm also considering a one-shot collection taking place in this universe just because I love Yaz, Jenny, and Disco (mostly Disco) and I've got a few ideas. More immediately, I'm hoping to have a short one-shot out in a few days so keep an eye out for that. 
> 
> Stay safe everyone, wash your hands, and remember to talk to your friends.

**Author's Note:**

> please feel free to come yell at me at my tumblr ( [@joanwolfe](https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/) ) where I take prompts and talk about my love of Doctor Who + general weirdness. I'm also very chill with leaving a kudo or a comment (anyway to yell at me is fine by me) See you all in a few days.


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